one which we can propofe, and the only one to which we will give our concurrence. Whenever that object is obtained, our Affociation is at an end-we go no farther. The people then will poffefs a more perfect organ to exprefs their fentiments, and a power to correct thofe abufes, which we call fubordinate, and which we believe to proceed principally from the prefent depraved fate of the reprefentation of the people in parliament. Refolved, That the above refolutions, propofed by the Committee, be agreed to, and adopted by the Society, and that the Committee be inftructed to publish the fame. Signed by order of the Committee. WILLIAM BAKER, M. P. Chairman. Friends of the People. At a General Meeting of the Society of The Friends of the People, añociated for the Purpose of ob taining a Parliamentary Reform, held at the Freemafons Tavern on the 2d of June, 1792, Sir John Throckmorton, Bart. in the Chair: ORDERED, That the following Letter, and the Anfwer, of the Committee of this Society, be printed and published. "Committee of the Society for Conftitutional Information at Sheffield, to the Committee of the Honourable Society, entitied The Friends of the People, in London. "Gentlemen, "It is with infinite pleafure we have read and confidered your ad dress and declaration from your ge neral meeting on the 26th of April laft. The principles therein "fet forth by fo large a body of the most refpectable and worthy characters, are fufficient teftimony and confirmation to us, that fo honourable a Society, by fignalizing themselves in fupport of the laudable and general caufe of the community, will render themfeives most truly worthy of that high and benevolent appellation by which they are already known to us, The Friends of the Peole. "Your fentiments, your motives, and your plan of obtaining a reform of the abufes of government are perfectly in unifon with our ideas: it is our business (to which we have always confined our endeavours) to inftruct the people in a temperate and peaceable manner in the neceffity of fuch a reform as you point out; but have never yet attempted to adopt or point out any particular mode of obtaining it, further than you will obfee by the inclosed, believing that in due time, men of more refpectable characters and greater abilities would step forward. To fuch we have always had an eye, and upon fuch we have ever meant to rely for our government, and the adoption of the most eligible plan of a more free and equal reprefentation in the Houfe of Commons, and the removal of the great abuses and impofitions by meafures altogether inadequate to the intereft and welfare of the nation in general, and to the mechanical and laborious part of the community in particular. "It is therefore with the higheft degree of fatisfaction that we behold fucha refpectable body ftepping forward in fo laudable, fo juft, and fo good á caufe. You have our warm eft cable, but eafy to accomplish, viz. to introduce ufeful knowledge, good order, and regularity, into the minds and morals of the common or lower orders of people. "We are perfectly satisfied of the integrity and abilities of those refpectable characters who conftitute the Society of the Friends of the People: but if we may prefume to lay before them fome thoughts we have had refpecting what method would be the beft to adopt for obtaining the general fenfe of the nation before the propofed motion in the next feffion of parliament takes place, we beg leave, with great deference to that honourable Society to fubmit the following to their fuperior judgment. We believe the most likely and effectual plan will be to establish a convention in London by deputies from each county or district, by which means the fentiments of the nation may be obtained without any confusion or diforder. est wishes, fincereft thanks, and affured endeavours of fupport in it, to the best of our abilities, in a rational and peaceable way. It is our duty, and it will ever claim our attention ftrictly to adhere to, to maintain, and be governed by the principles laid down in your declaration. Notwithstanding the grofs and fallacious infinuations of the enemies of justice and equity, we are affured that no honeft man being acquainted with our principles, would have attempted to declare in the Houfe, the defign of these affociations is completely to overturn the conftitution, &c.; and we are forry that Mr. Baker was under the difagreeable neceffity of explaining, in anfwer to fuch grofs affertions, with out having it in his power to fpeak with precifion to the principles and defign of this, and the fimilar focieties, and to have them united with yours in his explanation. For this, and fimilar reafons, we are induced to take the liberty of troubling you with the above, and following fketch. Our Members are now about 2400; yet we have the fatisfaction with truth to affirm, that not the leaft diforder or confufion hath made its appearance amongst us: all is unanimity, peace, and concord. As our members increase, the number of meeting-places are increased in proportion, fo as not to exceed at moft thirty members at one place. All the circular meetings are held once a fortnight, on the fame evening. Our general meeting is held once a month at three different houfes, on the fame day, generally very crowded; yet good order and regula. rity are ftrictly attended to; and we doubt not but what has been fuggefted to be impoffible, will be fully manifefted to be not only practi WE beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th inftant, and to return you our thanks for a confidence which we truft our future conduct will merit from our country. We have received fincere pleafure, not only from the firm and virtuous tone in which you have fpoken your principles, but from the wife and temperate manner in which you have limited their application to practice. We rejoice that "our fentiments, our motives, and "our plans of reform, are perfectly "in unifon with your ideas," becaufe we believe that a conduct in the great body of the people correfponding to fuch "fentiments," will equally confound the two oppofite claffes of enemies to the public weal, that it will defeat the hopes of thofe who would dupe the people into tumult, and that it will filence the flanders of thofe advocates of corruption who have laboured to render the caufe of Liberty odious and terrible to all good citizens, by confounding it with principles of anarchy, and by loading it with the obloquy of provoking civil commotion, and of endangering the deftruction of a conftitution, justly renowned for the freedom and happinefs which it has fo long bestowed. -You are pleafed to fay that "you "look up to the Friends of the People as your leaders and directors "in this great bulinefs." Authorized as we feel ourfelves by this proffered guidance, and by that harmony of fentiment which, from the tenor of your ictter, we muft fuppofe to exist between you and ourfelves, permit us to lay before you fone Neas which are dictated by 66 zeal for our common caufe. The caufe of liberty can never be endangered by the affault of its enemies, but may fometimes be expofed by the indifcretion of its friends. Its principles are founded on impregnable reason, and its enemies are therefore too dexterous directly to attack them. It is not against the reafonings of the champions of corruption (for they have produced none) but it is against their craft and their mifrepresentation, that we have found it neceflary to defend ourselves by the wariness of our language and our conduct. A fimilar warinefs, as far as the authority of our opinion can extend, we must counfel all focieties affociated on fimilar principles-for the accommplishment of the fame object, to obferve. Accused as they are, in common with our felves, of meditating one object and holding forth another; of feducing the people by a meafure fo fpecious and falutary as parlimentary reform, into other meafures of defperate tendency and undefinable extent, we can only advise them to follow our example in honeftly and folemn ly declaring, that "they make the "prefervation of the conftitution, "on its true principles, the foun"dation of all their proceedings," and the measure of all their, reform: Language thus explicit,,will effectually combat mifreprefentations, to which, perhaps, ardent indifcretion may have fometimes furnished pretexts. An early declaration of these opinions, which we fincerely believe you, to entertain, will conciliate many to the caufe of reform, who are now held in honeft_neutrality by their fears. The Friends of Order, after fuch a declaration, justified by confiftent conduct, will be no longer driven to feek refuge from anarchy in the bofem of corruption. The The interested fupporters of the prefent abufes will thus be difarmed; for it is only by confounding reform with commotion, and corruption with the British conftitution, that they are enabled to prolong and to defend their ufurpations. All our language, as you will perceive from the proceedings which we tranfmit to you, has been cautious, because all our views are moderate. We are perfuaded that you have a fimilar moderation of views, and we earneftly exhort you to a fimilar caution in language. It is only indeed with Societies who exprefs the fame moderation of principles, and adopt the fame warinefs of language, that this Society can entertain any correfpondence, or promife any co-operation. We have publicly difclaimed what we condemn, as well as avowed our real object; and on occafion unfought for by us, in conformity with this principle, we have been compelled to decline all intercourfe with the Society for Constitutional Information in London; for though we nei, ther wish to attack, nor pretend to dictate, we are certainly entitled to decline all intercourfe with men whofe views and principles appear to us irreconcileable with our own. On the particular measure which, you fuggeft for collecting the opinion of the people on the fubject of reform, we do not feel ourfelves yet prepared to decide. In a more advanced ftage of the bufinefs, it may, become very fit matter for deliberation. Permit us, Sir, to conclude with congratulating you, and likewife our country, on the admirable principles which your letter contains, and on the intrepid moderation which it entitles us to expect from you. You will deprive our enemies of every pretext for counterfeiting alarms which they do not feel, and of every opportunity to defeat our measures, by calumniating our intentions. In the name, and by order of the Committee. (Signed) C. GREY, Chairman. To Samuel Afhton, Efq. Secretary to the Society, &c. in Sheffield. "Sir, Monday Noon, June 4, 1792, "AFTER the ftrong Declaration and Proteft, which fome of us thought it our duty to make, at the meeting on the 19th of May, and in which we all heartily concurred, we might perhaps have been justified in adopting that line of conduct. which we now find ourselves bound to purfue, immediately on the appearance of the paper from the Society for Conftitutional Information, on the 25th of that month, if we had not been anxious, in that mos ment of critical expectation, to check every fymptom of difunion among ourselves, in the fanguine hope that at the meeting on Saturday laft, the moft decifive measures might have been taken to obviate the fatal effects of that publication. "You, Sir, will recollect the weighty objections which were made to Mr. Cooper's admiffion as a Member of the Affociation, the fpecific ground of thofe objections, and the declared refolution of fome of us to renounce our connection with the Affociation on that very account: And, as we cannot diftinguish between the appointment of that gentleman to correfpond with the Jacobins at Paris, and the exprefs avowal of a fimilar correfpondence actually carried on under the hand and fignature of Mr. Cartwright, we are at a lofs to conceive upon what principle the one fhould have ceafed to belong to the Affociation, which did not equally deinand the exclufion of the other. "No step of this fort appears to have been taken: retaining the fame opinion of the propriety of a parliamentary reform, agreeably to thofe principles which alone induced us to engage in the Affociation, and which we have repeatedly declared to the public, we feel what is due to our own confiftency of conduct; and under this impreffion, we think it incumbent on us to withdraw our names from a Society, which, by continuing fuch connections, will, in our opinion, fruftrate the attainment of thofe very objects for which alone the Affociation was inftituted, and to which alone its attention ought to be directed. "We have, Sir, the honour to be J. C. CURWEN, Refolved unanimously, That if it had occurred to any Member of this Affociation, that Major Cartwright ought to have been excluded on Saturday laft, it would have been an act of public duty in fuch Member to have brought forward a motion for that purpose. Refolved unanimously, That no one of the gentlemen who have affigned the continuance of Major Cartwright in the Society as their fole reafon for quitting it, did attend at the general meeting on Saturday laft. Refolved unanimously, That it does not appear upon what reasonable ground the five gentlemen, who have now quitted the Affociation, could have entertained a " fanguine hope" that measures, which even they did not think fit to recommend, fhould have been proposed by others in their abfence. Refolved unanimously, That at the meeting of the 19th of May, the name of Mr. Cooper was voluntarily withdrawn by the gentleman who had originally propofed him, before any objection had been publicly made, or any thing whatever had been faid in the Society upon the fubject. Refolved unanimously, That this Society have entered into no connexions whatsoever, inconfiftent with their declared principles; but, on the contrary, have publicly declined all intercourse with another Society, whofe views and objects appeared to them irreconciliable with the real interefts of the people, and the genuine principles of the conftitution. Refolved unanimously, That if this Society had in any inftance contra. dicted, or departed from the declar. ed principles and objects of their inftitution, |